Edward Burra
Born – London, England 1905
Died – Rye, England 1976
Edward Burra was a sickly child and illness plagued him throughout his life. His formative education was undertaken at home. From 1921-1923 he studied at Chelsea Polytechnic and for a further two years at the Royal College of Art, London. He had a liking for the quirky and the absurd, which explains why the work of the Dadaists, Surrealists and German artists, particularly George Grosz, proved inspirational to him. Due to his illness tempering his own experiences, he delighted in the vitality of the other, more colourful lives he observed on his travels and on the cinema screen. The social scene and licentiousness of the streets, bars and nightclubs were of a particular and lasting fascination to him. When he had the opportunity to visit America, in 1933, the watercolour paintings he made in response, such as Harlem, satirize the characters and the local urban environment without being critical or referencing political issues; a hint of menace pervades Burra’s bright tonality. Such light-hearted illustrations are contrasted by works produced after 1936 in response to the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. Burra’s later paintings focus on landscape and still life.
Masterpieces:
- The Snack Bar
- Medusa
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Books About edward burra
Edward Burra
Simon Martin
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Edward Burra
John Rothenstein
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Edward Burra: Twentieth-century Eye
Jane Stevenson
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